First True Solo Dive After Certification

[BFRedrocks]

This past weekend I completed both the SDI Solo Diver course and PADI Self-reliant course (and achieved PADI Master Scuba Diver level at the same time), so I started thinking about what I would do for my first "true" solo dive. For those folks who hadn't done a solo dive (by choice) before becoming Solo Diver certified, what did you do for your first "true" solo dive following certification? Did you do anything special to commemorate it?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Did a dive to 120 feet in a dark lake before certification (more than a few times) and a solo dive on the Dean Richmond in Lake Erie. Max depth 115 water temp 38 degrees. Since then I've done solo decompression dives. I've never felt there was anything "special" about them other than I didn't have to keep track of anyone else. The solitude is special. I'll do any dive solo that I would with a buddy. Then there are some dives where a buddy is a liability and I would not want one on those dives.

 

[drrich2]

For those folks who hadn't done a solo dive (by choice) before becoming Solo Diver certified, what did you do for your first "true" solo dive following certification? Did you do anything special to commemorate it?

No. The solo aspect was special enough; for me, at least, there was a substantial psychological difference, from gearing up to the experience of the actual dive. Sinking down into that quarry, there's a lot of cold water around me & over my head, and nobody to help if things go south.

And the SDI course basically advises staying within your comfort zone of experience, no pinnacle dives (e.g.: deepest, roughest conditions, etc... that you've ever done).

I would suggest you go to a quarry or the like, where you can sit down & go over your gear up plan & routine nice & slow, with no urgency to get off a charter boat into the water quickly, no stress to navigate a strange place, and you can do a fairly easy dive or two at your leisure. Ideally in a familiar place.

That's my suggestion. Part of solo is that, as long as you don't need somebody else's boat to get there, it's all down to you.

Richard.

 

[BFRedrocks]

Thanks Richard. My question was really just one of curiosity. My plan has always been for that first solo dive to be one of total relaxation and stress-free, because I'm not rushing to gear up at the same rate as my buddies (I'm always the slow one), I'm not thinking about having to follow someone or keep tabs on someone, and I'm just enjoying the freedom and solitude of diving. Most of my diving here is at a local lake which I know very well, so its definitely well within my comfort zone.

 

[Kharon]

... total relaxation and stress-free, because I'm not rushing to gear up at the same rate as my buddies (I'm always the slow one), I'm not thinking about having to follow someone or keep tabs on someone, and I'm just enjoying the freedom and solitude of diving.

++1 and I can explore wherever/whatever I find interesting.

 

[sportxlh]

I think drrich is right, do a dive that you're comfortable with as your first solo dive.

I think my first solo dive was Blue Heron Bridge in WPB, but that was before I acatully got the certification. My first solo ocean dive was a drift dive in Jupiter Florida, but that was also before I got the SDI certification. I think my first 'new' solo experience after the solo certification was diving solo in the Bahamas off of a live-aboard, though I also solo dove the Vandenberg in Key Largo for the first time at about the same time.

 

[BFRedrocks]

Got to complete my first true "solo" dives after solo certification this past weekend. The best part was doing everything (waking up, driving to the Site, gearing up, entering the water, descending, etc) on my own time and not feeling rushed by other divers. Once I descended and set my anchor line, I casually finned out away from the what seemed like hordes of OW classes to get where the viz was more than 5 feet, and then simply cruised the canyon walls at my leisure. As a geologist, I seem to be the only one in my normal dive group that enjoys checking out the underwater geology (the lake I dive in is essentially an old canyon), so it was great to be able to do that without being concerned that no one else was having fun.

All in all I did 2 dives, each one to about 50 feet for 45 mins or so, and I returned with perfect navigation and over 1800 psi still in my tank for each dive. What an enjoyable stress-free day of solo diving!

P.S. Interestingly although a bunch of the instructors and OW students said Hi to me, no one questioned me directly about diving solo. I did, however, notice quite a few OW students giving me a very odd look when they saw me swim out with my float by myself.

 

[RJP]

This past weekend I completed both the SDI Solo Diver course and PADI Self-reliant course (and achieved PADI Master Scuba Diver level at the same time), so I started thinking about what I would do for my first "true" solo dive. For those folks who hadn't done a solo dive (by choice) before becoming Solo Diver certified, what did you do for your first "true" solo dive following certification? Did you do anything special to commemorate it?

I had probably done 300 or so solo dives BEFORE getting my SDI Solo Cert...

The most memorable solo dives I did prior to my Solo cert were the 57 wreck dives I did in Truk during a 21 day trip in 2009. (Of the 57 dives I'd say 45 were "true" solo dives, with the rest being solo-ish.) There's something incredibly surreal about having a wreck like the San Francisco Maru all to yourself; without a squadron of divers the sharks, rays, turtles, and everything else don't get spooked off.

The most memorable solo dives I've done since my Solo cert were the 30 or so wreck dives I did in Truk during a 10-day trip back in march of this year. There were only three passengers on the liveaboard I was on, and I was the only one doing deco and significant penetration so it was pretty easy to do your own thing and have most, if not all, of the wreck to yourself.

 

[OrangeHead]

I
The most memorable solo dives I've done since my Solo cert were [...] doing deco and significant penetration

Sounds great. I don't think SDI certified you for that though!

 

[Curt Bowen]

I myself have done hundreds of dives alone, but just out of curiosity, what do they actually teach in a solo diving course?
Why would someone wish to take such a course?